World
Why the Welsh Tory leader has quit
Andrew RT Davies has quit this lunchtime as the leader of the Conservative group in the Welsh parliament. It follows…
Public trust in SNP government collapses
When it rains for Scotland’s Nats, it pours. It now transpires – according to the Scottish government’s very own survey…
Starmer will struggle to keep both the EU and US happy
We do not have to make a choice between our alliance with the United States and closer relations with the…
Is this the end for Barnier – and Macron?
Emmanuel Macron arrived in Saudi Arabia on Monday for trade talks with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Having signed a…
NHS Scotland can’t go on like this
Another Scottish budget and another dire warning from the spending watchdog, Audit Scotland, that the National Health Service in Scotland…
Will Louise Haigh receive a golden goodbye?
Well, well, well. Before Sir Keir Starmer’s Labour lot got into government, Starmer’s army was quite happy to commit to…
Marine Le Pen’s reckless game with the French economy
The power probably feels good. And it may help her win the presidency eventually. Even so, there is a catch…
Why Britain is rolling out the red carpet for Qatar
This week’s state visit by the Emir of Qatar is the first of any Arab leader since King Charles ascended…
Is Starmer planning a foreign policy reset too?
Keir Starmer is preparing to give his big reset speech on Thursday. But the more interesting address is perhaps the…
The new Jaguar is spectacularly hideous
Winston Churchill reputedly said ‘Success consists of going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm.’ This adage must have…
The Japanese are in for a big TfL culture shock
Tokyo Nothing can prepare the good people from Tokyo Metro – who are coming to London to run the Elizabeth…
Things can only get worse for Keir Starmer
Finally a date has been set – 29 January 2025 – for the government to debate points posed by the…
Britain is finally debating cousin marriage
It is a biting winter’s evening in Cambridge and apparently we are making history. This is the first serious public…
Ireland’s centre has held
Two years ago, I secured an apartment in Dublin through a gay dating app. I was desperate and there was…
Success for Syria’s rebels is far from guaranteed
Syrian Sunni Islamist fighters are continuing to consolidate their gains in Syria’s Aleppo province. Almost the entirety of Aleppo city,…
Will Wormald actually help Starmer change the civil service?
Downing Street has announced that the 14th secretary to the cabinet and head of the civil service will be Sir…
Labour risks death by consultation
After 14 years in opposition, you might have expected Labour to come into government bursting with plans for Britain. Yet…
Why Joe Biden was right to pardon Hunter
President Joe Biden’s unexpected pardon of his son, Hunter, on federal gun charges may appear as the ultimate example of lawfare hypocrisy,…
Can Starmer force the NHS to change?
‘Hear me when I say this – no more money without reform.’ That was the Prime Minister’s message to the…
Why the West must back Syria’s Bashar al-Assad
I had a nasty shock when I switched on my TV on Sunday. It was clearly a propaganda film with…
Sir Chris Wormald is the new cabinet secretary
Keir Starmer has today resolved one of his longstanding headaches: who to appoint to lead the civil service. The man…
Why did the state let Kneecap win?
There was something predictable in the government’s agreement last week to accept defeat in the Belfast High Court. The overtly…
The Oxford Union has disgraced itself
The chamber of the Oxford Union, that once-proud institution, has been breached by the forces of bigotry, hatred, and mob…
Hunter’s pardon is the legacy of Joe Biden’s weakness
So Joe Biden decided to go out by doing the thing. And why not? For all the people who praised…
How does the NHS tackle eight million missed appointments?
One of the perennial scapegoats of the NHS is the patient who doesn’t turn up for their GP appointment. The…
